Fire In The Veins
by MidgardSerpent
Summary: The revenge-driven and wrathful Dragonborn sides with Alduin, but she is not the only Dragonborn in Skyrim. What happens when the two Dragonborns become arch-enemies? What will become of Skyrim - of Tamriel? Dragonborn/Alduin pairing. Rated M.
1. Prologue

_Storyline, plot and some lore has been changed to suit my story._

_Rated M: Children, go away now._

_There is no happy ending for my Dragonborn in this tale._

_Bethesda owns TES Skyrim._

_Please review._

**FIRE IN THE VEINS**

"They came riding at first light

Fifty men armed to the teeth

The sounding horn called us out to fight

We went to meet them with our steel

Outnumbered yet we fought

But soon we were overrun

We took refuge in our home

Our downfall had just begun

They attacked our home, we kept them out

Defending ourselves with spear and bow

We took them out one by one

As the rising autumn sun glowed

There were twenty dead on each side

When we first smelled something burn

We heard them laughing from outside

Taunting us with spiteful words

They set the house on fire

In order to smoke us out

Only five of us were still alive

And our time was running out

Raging flames surrounded us all

Our home was under siege

Crumbling roof and burning walls

There was no way to break free

As we were all about to die

We swore a sacred oath

Revenge would be claimed if someone survived

And we sealed the oath in blood

The roof caved in and cleared a path

A way out of the flames

It was decided that I'd go first

As we made for our escape

Suddenly the walls came down

And trapped the rest inside

My closest friends died that day

Only I made it out alive"

Arson

**PROLOGUE:**

Amethyst eyes with a raging fire behind them glared down at their enemy before initiating the killing blow. The loser begged and pleaded for their life as they had never seen such destruction caused by one single person before – but the begging was in vain as all the victor could do was think about, hear and see their brothers and sisters in arms being burned alive by the attacking Imperial legion.

Fires were roaring with intent to reach the heavens as they consumed the wooden homes, black smoke blanketed the air in a thick fog, yet all else was quiet. The mangled and mauled bodies of the forty Imperial legionnaires were scattered about the wreckage of the small settlement, the twelve Red Dragon mercenaries who inhabited the settlement were all charred from being burned alive in their mead hall.

As the menacing battleaxe swung down towards the Imperial soldier, and he took his last breath, all he saw were those amethyst eyes that were fury incarnate sending his soul to Oblivion. The victor spat on the now lifeless body of the soldier before turning to face the burning husk that was once their home. All the memories of life in the mercenary settlement came flooding into the warrior's mind at once – the only family they had ever known, gone, in a mere few hours. Dropping to their knees, the warrior cried bitter tears for a family lost.

That night, the sole survivor swore an oath to avenge the death of their shield siblings, and never stop seeking revenge on the empire and all who supported them.


	2. Chapter One

"It's been five years since I left this land

Since I left my friends to burn

Five years making bitter plans

Preparing my return

All this time my hatred's grown

The one thing on my mind

The hate in me is all I've known

The one thing keeping me alive

Bold words spread across the land

Bragging tongues speak carelessly

They know not what is to come

I'll hunt them down restlessly

The oath I swore, once sealed in blood

A seal between loyal friends

I swore before ancient Gods

I will have revenge

Now here I stand in pouring rain

As he comes riding down the path

He will learn the meaning of pain

As subject to my endless wrath

He will be the first to pay

For the bragging words he spoke

He'll regret that fateful day

My friends perished in smoke

I swore! Before my Gods!

An oath! Once sealed in blood

So here I stand on the road

With cold steel in my hand

As he looks into my unforgiving soul

His tears begin to run

One man down 29 to go

Consider yourselves warned

I'm coming for the rest of you

And will have no remorse

Once Sealed In Blood

**CHAPTER ONE:**

_Four years later…_

The captured Stormcloaks as well as Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak all turned their heads towards the east, trying to peer past the thick tree line where the noise of shouting and steel clashing against steel could be heard. The pain filled screams of men being slain echoed out of the woods and Ulfric and his men hoped that a group of fellow Stormcloaks happened upon the Imperial camp and decided to extinguish the group of legionnaires.

The noise was getting closer and closer before the scene spilled out of the woods. Ulfric's eyes widened as a man…no, woman in daedric armour dual wielding both a greatsword and battleaxe came into view. The woman was pelted with arrows and even had a dagger in her right thigh, though that was doing nothing to stop her brutal assault on the Imperials.

She ran her greatsword through the stomach of a man, entrails hanging off the sword out the other end while she decapitated a female legionnaire with her battleaxe. The fight was getting closer and closer to the Stormcloaks and they didn't like it at all. A Nord legionnaire ran forward and clobbered the woman's arms with his warhammer, effectively knocking both her daedric weapons out of her hands. She turned to face him in a flash and that is when Ulfric noticed her unusual amethyst coloured eyes. But what startled him the most was the pure rage and hatred that filled them.

The woman…no, girl who seemed to be in her late teens or early twenties roared out in anger and rushed the Nord legionnaire while grabbing his throat with her clawed gauntlet and successfully tearing it out. He crumpled down onto the blood stained grass making gurgling sounds while the crimson liquid flowed freely down his chest. Without her seeing, a nimble little soldier surprised her from behind, jumping on top of her six foot stature and held a white cloth doused with a sleeping potion firmly to her nose. A few seconds later the berserker's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground.

Most of the battle weary legionnaires sat heavily on the ground, completely out of breath, while others circled the warrior with disbelief scribbled across their faces.

"By the eight! She took nineteen of us out on her own!" said one soldier disbelievingly.

"When she first sprung on the guards at the border of the woods I thought she was one of them Dremora Knyvals – nearly shat my small cloths I did!" said another while staring at the intimidating and unconscious body lying only a few feet away.

General Tullius was outraged that his camp was attacked, and more so by the fact that a single, Nord woman took out nineteen of his men. He would have her head at Helgen, and that was a promise.

"Stop your chattering soldiers. You! Celestina and Amandia, look over the dead and ready letters of condolences to the families. Decimus, you and your boys gather the bodies together over by the spare carts" After barking orders at his men, General Tullius turned to the Stormcloaks and glared at them before spotting Captain Fabiola.

"Captain, help me take the body to one of these tents so we can change her into the prisoner's uniforms, and try decipher who she is"

"Yes General Tullius" replied the woman who moved forward to take the perpetrator's legs.

The two Imperials carried the Nord girl with difficulty from the weight of the daedric armour as well as her own weight. Eventually they managed to place her on top of the table that was in the centre of the large tent. Captain Fabiola started to unfasten the armour with difficulty as General Tullius rummaged through the black leather satchel that was attached to the girl.

Tullius found an amulet that was in the shape of a red dragon which seemed familiar somehow, but the memory was lost on him. He also pulled out notes and worn diaries with angry scribbles and writing – most of which made no sense. The items in the bag were useless and offered no clue as to who the warrior was, although the red dragon amulet nagged at the back of Tullius' mind.

Tullius turned around to see Fabiola pull the last of that fearsome armour off and his eyes widened with shock. Her body was slender, yet muscular from years of being a warrior, though old wounds marred almost every bit of skin exposed. The ring finger on her right hand was missing, there was a horizontal scar across her throat where it had been slit – though somehow she had survived. Her face would have been beautiful if not for all the scars, or the large chunk of flesh missing from the right side of her mouth that nearly travelled to her ear which exposed her teeth. Red war paint in the shape of a hand was painted across the lower half of her face, as if a bloodied hand had slapped her.

Tullius and Fabiola admitted to themselves that they were somewhat frightened of this criminal, but they had a duty to fulfil and they would see this murderer pay for her crimes.

"Captain, get her dressed and bind her with chains…somehow I don't think rope would be enough"

"By your orders General" replied Fabiola while reaching for the tunic and breeches as Tullius exited the tent.

A large, black and winged figure, hidden by the shadows of the mountain range in front of the campsite had watched the battle that had transpired earlier and grinned with a satisfaction, exposing monolithic razor sharp teeth. The Dovahkiin had returned to Skyrim, marking the beginning of the new era.


	3. Chapter Two

"I've got the power to fly into the wind

The power to be free, to die and live again

The power's like fire, fire loves to burn

Make the world a grave of ashes in an urn

The power in the darkness to see without my sight

Walk among the living, free of wrong and right

The power of the magic, the power of the spell

Not to serve in Heaven, but one day to rule in Hell

This power's greater than love and of hate

This is the power of will and of fate

The power to kill, the power to feel

The power of blood, the triumph of steel

Greater than the power of a priest or a sinner

The power to defy, to fight and be the winner

The power of the demons spirits I command

Always by my side to serve the master's plan

None can fight the power, none can fight the wind

Secrets of all life and death are carried there within

Call out to the power of the darkness and light

Have dominion of the earth, be lord of all the night

Kill all those who stand against you, look into their eyes

Drink their blood and laugh as they pay for all their lies

Piss upon their graves, then cast the final spell

Fly into the night and one day meet in Hell"

The Power

**CHAPTER TWO:**

As the warrior lay unconscious on the floor of the carriage she and the other prisoners were in, her mind was plagued with whispers of encouragement to awaken with underlying whispers in a strange language she had never heard before. Then without warning, the image of a great black Dragon appeared in front of her, staring into her eyes – looking down to the very depths of her soul. The dream felt incredibly real, and those flaming ruby-red eyes of the Dragon gave her comfort and assurance like she had never felt before. Before she could get lost in those eyes however, she awoke with a start.

"Hah, glad to see you're finally awake" said a Nord man with golden blonde hair, dressed in Stormcloak uniform who was seated opposite her.

She merely grunted in response while raising herself to the seat along the carriage.

"You sure gave those Imperials what they deserved. They couldn't best you in battle so they resorted to underhanded tactics – typical" said the Stormcloak with a sneer.

The woman sat in silence, glaring a hole into the carriage floor while the Stormcloak argued with the small, slip of a Nord in rags seated next to him.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sonvngarde awaits" was the statement that brought the warrior our of her thoughts.

"Don't be so sure about that" replied the girl with barely contained rage.

"And how do you think we will overcome this? Especially you, who is bound in chains…" asked the Nord stormcloak who's tone of voice implied that he knew his death was set in stone.

She looked away and up to the blue skies above her, not having a concrete answer to provide him with, though for some reason, she could not shake the feeling that today was not the day for her to die.

"Dibella, Akatosh, Stendarr, Shor, Mara…" the thief in the cart started rambling out the names of every God when he realized they were in Helgen to die.

The anger from listening to the little shit whine and cower was getting too much for her. His high pitched voice piercing her ears felt like a mass of screeching skeevers crashing down upon her. When she could take his rambling no more, she shot up from her seat and gave him a powerful headbutt, successfully knocking him out. Some of the guards and the Stormcloaks gave out a hearty laugh at the milk drinking thief, though the girl was just too happy that she shut his mouth.

The carts stopped near one of Helgen's exits which lead to Falkreath. Captain Fabiola and a soldier named Hadvar walked over to the warrior's cart where they stood next to one another – parchment, quill and inkwell in hand.

"When I call your names, walk over to where the other prisoners are standing" said Hadvar while he looked over the list of names.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm"

"Ralof of Riverwood"

"Lokir of Rorikstead"

As Hadvar called out Lokir's name, the little skeever tried to make a run for it, but only managed to get an arrow in his back. _No loss to Nirn_ thought the warrior as she looked at the body splayed across road.

"Anybody else feel like running?" asked the Captain as she deliberately looked into the warrior's eyes, as if daring her to try and escape.

The warrior could only glare at Fabiola, wishing she could stick a dagger in her eye.

"You, girl, who are you?" asked Hadvar, as his eyes scanned up and down the list for a name not ticked off already.

The warrior slowly walked forward, carrying the disdain she had for the empire on her face as her eyes bored holes into their faces.

"I am Vald—Valdis of…of the Reach" replied Valdis while swaying lightly on her feet, the moment she tried to say her name the word _Dovahkiin _erupted in her mind while sending a strong shudder through her.

"Captain, she's not on the list…" started Hadvar while looking at Valdis.

"Forget the list, she's an enemy of the Empire, she gets her head chopped off today!" Fabiola practically spat her answer out before she turned and made her way to the headsman.

"I'm sorry Valdis, at least you have the comfort of knowing you'll die in your homeland…follow the Captain"

"Keep your serpentine words to yourself you filthy traitor" replied Valdis in a deadly low voice as she gave Hadvar a venomous glare and walked to where the Stormcloaks stood.

As Valdis waited for her name to be called by the Imperial whore Fabiola, the whispers in her mind were getting louder before it sounded like they were shouting to her. Still that foreign language spoke to her, but she did not understand it. As one of the Stomcloaks' head rolled off into the crate, a booming roar was heard overhead in the distance, all looked up to search the skies, yet to Valdis, it sounded as if the roar were in her head.

"Next, the murderous savage in rags!" sneered Fabiola.

Valdis grinned at the memory of her killing off all those Imperials two days ago, though to the others, her grin seemed more like a snarl due to her deeply scarred face.

Valdis walked forward to the block, lowered herself to her knees and placed her face against the warm, sticky block that was dripping with blood.

As the headsman raised his axe, another vicious roar was heard. In the distance, Valdis could make out a large black mass flying towards Helgen.

"Bleak Falls Barrow" echoed a seductively velvet voice from inside her head.

The black mass got closer and closer before a mighty black Dragon landed on the watchtower next to Valdis. General Tullius and the other Imperials were shouting with confusion and fear before the Dragon shouted words that rippled towards the headsman, knocking him to the ground in a killing blow. As Valdis slowly rose from her knees, staring at the Dragon with disbelief, she remembered those vivid ruby-red eyes. This was the Dragon that was in her dreams earlier.

The Dragon seemed to be studying her as much as she was studying it, but before she could think more on the Dragon and all the strange occurrences that had happened during the day, a firm hand grasped her arm and pulled her towards a nearby watchtower. She turned her head around to see that it was Ralof pulling her. Once inside the tower where a few injured Stormcloaks and Jarl Ulfric were hiding in, Ralof started asking Ulfric about Dragons being legends and what not. Valdis paid no attention to their little conversation as she was peering through the narrow window of the tower watching the grand beast destroy Helgen.

"Up the tower Valdis, let's go!" shouted Ralof as he began to run up the tower's staircase.

As they made it to the second floor, a Stormcloak was kneeled on the ground moving away some rubble before the Dragon bashed his massive horned head through the wall letting out a tidal wave of fire, killing the Stormcloak in the process. If Valdis did not know any better, she would think the Dragon was clearing a path for her. She filed that bit of speculative information to the back of her mind as she jumped to the inn that was directly opposite the tower.

As her feet made contact with the wooden floor of the inn, she heard the wooden planks groan loudly before they gave way to the impact of her landing. Before she knew it, she was on her arse on the first floor of the inn with a large wooden spike sticking out of her left thigh. Valdis got up and limped to the hole in the wall on the other side of the inn. She spotted a boy, an older man and Hadvar crouched down on the side of the house in front of her. Hadvar turned his head and spotted Valdis, not being surprised in the least she made it this far.

"Still alive I see Valdis? If you want to stay that way, you'd better follow me" said Hadvar as he searched the skies for an opening, although thankfully the Dragon seemed occupied on the other side of the village.

Valdis begrudgingly followed Hadvar while glaring a hole in the back of his head, hoping that Dragon would char-grill his traitorous arse. When they got to the keep, Valdis caught up with Ralof again, leaving Hadvar to his own devices. Once inside the keep, Ralof leaned against a table for a moment trying to catch his breath, then he noticed the large and intrusive spike through Valdis's thigh.

"One would think with a spike like that in their leg, they would be writhing on the floor in pain"

Grimly, Valdis looked down at her thigh, completely forgetting that she was impaled.

"My body has withstood so much pain in the past, this is naught but a pin prick" said Valdis, thinking back on her battle mongering past.

At only a child of seven, she had killed her first man. In her short life of only twenty years, Valdis had seen more death and battle than most soldiers ever did. Her father, Oddr, was the leader of the Red Dragon mercenaries – who were the rivals of the Companions. Unlike the Companions however, the Red Dragons were renegades who would burn down a village if it would save a city. Whereas the Companions would save the village no matter the cost.

"Kill before you are killed girl – life is a never ending battle, make sure you are the best of the best" her father told her once, and she lived by that statement everyday of her miserable life.

"Quick, through that gate!" barked a familiar voice, breaking Valdis out of her memories.

"The Imperials, hide!" whispered Ralof fiercely as he crouched behind some rubble with his war axe drawn.

Valdis was still in chains and had no weapon…until she looked at her thigh. Suddenly the gate burst open and in marched Captain Fabiola and some hapless Imperial soldier. Valdis saw red at that fact that Fabiola had made it this far without dying and burned with anger.

Fabiola spotted Valdis, unable to fight back and charged at her with her sword drawn while the soldier engaged Ralof in battle. Valdis smirked at the bitch before raising her chained hands and swiftly smashing them into Fabiola's face, receiving the desired sound of a nose breaking. Blood shot out of the Captain's nose and she staggered back a few paces. In her battle-rage, Valdis roughly pulled the spike out of her thigh with a loud roar just in time to see that Fabiola had recovered and charged at her again.

Valdis dodged the Captain's attack easily and before Fabiola could raise her sword again for another attempt at a swipe, she received a wooden spike through the eye instead. The Captain let out a blood curdling scream of pain before collapsing to the floor, never to get up again.

"If it's alright with you, I think I will stay in your good books" said Ralof with light humour as he stood on the other side of the room with a raised eyebrow.

That evening after about three hours of sleep in Ralof's sister's house, the unknown force drove Valdis to Bleak Falls Barrow. Her body moved to the Barrow on its own accord. All she could hear were the whispers yet again invading her mind. She could not stop, a 'pied-piper' voice enthralled her to carry on, to enter the barrow and find whatever it was she was to discover.

When she got to the barrow however, it seemed that someone had already beat her to it. The bodies of dead bandits were strewn across the snow covered ruins. Inside was no different, dead bandits and skeevers littered the entrance hall. Armed with only an iron sword and Stormcloak armour, Valdis pressed on further into the bowels of Bleak Falls Barrow feeling almost naked without her weapons and daedric armour.

After passing through seemingly never ending passages of slain Draugr, a giant spider, skeevers and even a dunmer, she finally reached a large corridor she identified as a hall of stories the ancient Nords used to build in barrows. As Valdis passed through the hall and entered a lovely cavern of greenery and waterfalls – chanting words that almost seemed to be in song called out to her very soul. Blindly she walked forward to where a blue glow radiated out of a wall marred with the carvings of a foreign language.

One word stuck out from the rest on the wall and near entranced Valdis. As she got closer, the chanting got louder before the glow all but smothered her, swirled around and completely devoured her. To Valdis, it felt as though one hundred people had walked over her grave. She almost felt violated. After the glow and voices disappeared, a word was engrained into her mind – _FUS_. She leant against the wall and took a few breaths to steady herself.

As Valdis looked up again, she saw a man sitting on a chest on a raised platform, watching her intently. On instinct, she drew her sword and slowly walked to the man who now had a smirk on his face.

"Come now Valdis, my dear. We are all friends here no?" Valdis instantly recognised the voice as the same velvety one who first told her to go to Bleak Falls Barrow back in Helgen.

For reasons unknown, Valdis somehow knew this stranger meant her no harm. She sheathed her sword and kept a wary eye on him.

"How do you know my name, who are you?" asked Valdis, wanting answers to the circus that had been performing in her mind all day.

"All of the Dovah know who you are. You can call me Al, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Dragonborn…"


	4. Chapter Three

"Forces of the northern light – assemble

Forces of the northern night – call to arms

Summoned by the secrets of sacrifice

Meeting destiny on the road we took to avoid it

As we only compete with ourselves

Left is that of a confident union

What bridge to cross and what bridge to burn

Deceit is everywhere you turn

We weed out the weak and their weep

Evolving – compulsively

Behaving – inconsistently

Yet the pulse is pounding

Restoration is the name

For those who are left in the game

Invocation in the name of our flame

The deviants seek but one place

Forward onward march

Forgive we shall not

Forget we shall not

With trickery and treat

Enemies will face defeat

No place for dreamers

As our formation is lava

Fire is with or against you

And so it burns

Constant retribution calling

From the shadows of three consecutive sixes

Merging with the cold dark vacuum

Talent is worthless unless excercised

When the world is turning

You'll find your true nature

When the first is last and the last is first

You'll be where you choose to be

Forgive we shall not

Forget we shall not

Fire is with or against you

And so it burns

Dimmu Borgir

**CHAPTER THREE:**

"Dragonborn? What on Nirn are you talking about?" asked Valdis fiercely as she was getting tired of not knowing what was happening to her.

The man stood up from the treasure chest and slowly stepped down towards her. As the beams of light from high above the cavern hit his figure, she bit back hard on a gasp that threatened to escape. The mysterious stranger had the height of an Altmer but the braun of a Nord. His fair skin had a metallic, pearlescent sheen to it. A thick, straight mane of midnight black hair reached his elbows which clashed heavily with his pale complexion. But the thing that startled Valdis the most, were his vivid ruby-red eyes. _Could it be? _Standing only mere inches in front of her she caught sight of the reptilian-like slits he had for pupils.

"You my dear, are Dragonborn…have you not heard the tales the Nords told of the Dragonborns slaying Dragons and _stealing_ their souls?" asked Al with barely contained disdain.

Valdis could not believe what she was hearing…her? An empty, bitter shell of her former self who lived only for revenge was the Dragonborn? However, after all that was going on in her mind that day and the word on the wall, the invading glow, the whispers in her head, the Dragon and Al…perhaps he was right.

"I know the stories well, my father often told me tales of mighty battles between Dragon and man when I was a child. But…would that not mean I would have to slay Dragons now?" To her own astonishment, an overwhelming sense of sadness washed over her at the thought of having to kill a Dragon. It had been years since she felt any emotion other than hatred and bitterness and now to feel the same emotion she felt four years ago when her friends had died, was hard to swallow.

Al sensed her emotions and was pleased that her soul was proving to be more in favour of the Dovah.

"No…I have the means to bring you to full potential, without having to slay a single Dragon" replied Al while sitting down on the rim of the sarcophagus in the centre of the cavern with his foot resting on the recently slain draugr's head in front of him on the floor.

Valdis folded her arms and tilted her head to the side, unsure of what to make of this Al. He seemed too sure of himself, and was he even speaking truths to her?

"Alright, say that you can give me the power of the Dovahkiin without killing a Dragon – the question is why? Why help me? And what is it that YOU gain from helping me?...and no lies, I want the truth" asked Valdis sternly.

The more she thought on her being a Dragonborn, the more she relished in the promise of the power to come her way. She could crush the Empire to dust and perhaps this Al could be the key to her victory over the Empire.

Al glared at the floor and was near shaking with rage from thinking on what he needed and why. Thousands of years was he cursed into the black void of time itself, having nothing to do but slumber in a pit of venomous hatred for those who killed Dragons simply for what they were. The lies plastered in books and tales about him were near staggering. But he would have his revenge and he would be the victor. And this beautiful, battle hardened creature before him would be the means to a long and overdue bitter end.

Al stood up and stepped towards Valdis, raising his arm and gently placing his icy cold, hand upon Valdis's scarred cheek, dragging his fingers ever so lightly across the contours of the scars. Valdis shuddered at his touch, feeling a ghostly sensation dance down her spine. Al then brought his other hand up and placed it on the smooth cheek that was untouched by battle. Valdis stared long and hard into those fiery orbs, unsure of the situation she was in. Al slowly brought his forehead to rest upon hers and a faint crimson glow appeared between their joined foreheads. Then without warning, as if Valdis was struck by a speeding arrow – memories of the past and present flooded her mind with enough impact to render her speechless and immobile.

As the memories branded themselves in her mind, the sensation rushed through her veins as if a blast of raging fire erupted in a mine full of gas. Valdis screamed with pain from feeling as if she was being burned from the inside out, like fire in her veins. Through all the pain she saw many dragons and the great black one known as Alduin. The truce the Dovah had formed with the humans to live in harmony and the betrayal ignited by man and mer alike to the Dragons. The revenge that Alduin sought for his 'people' and the war he waged against the mortals, eventually ending in his exile from Nirn into the abyss.

Tears poured freely from her eyes as the emotions of all the Dovah along with Alduin embedded themselves in her very soul. She felt the immense pain, the sorrow, the regret, the hatred, the anger, the betrayal and it fused with her own demons deep within her soul. Then she saw a chamber full of men and women alike with a similar appearance to Al…speaking the dragon language which was slowly leaking into her mind with her understanding every word. On top of the platform in the chamber sat Al, looking down upon the others with a chalice of red wine in his hand.

As one of the men reached the throne, he bowed and addressed Al in a name which Valdis gasped at. Alduin severed the connection between himself and Valdis by stepping back causing Valdis to drop to the floor, gasping for air. Once Valdis managed to wrap her mind around the severity of the situation, she stood up on shaky legs looking into the crimson orbs and stared at the man with a torrent of emotions for him.

"Alduin…" was the one word Valdis managed to get out as she stood transfixed looking upon this magnificent being.

"I apologise for the pain you had to endure to see the beginning of it all, and why what will come must happen. Do you see now what happened to us? How the overly ambitious mortals were blinded by their need to dominate Nirn and destroy those more powerful than them? **Do you see how my people suffered? How they were betrayed? How they were slaughtered like pigs! Do you see why I am consumed by my need for revenge? **Do you…" at the last of Alduin's rant his voice lowered into a whisper which sounded as if his throat were constricted by a thick lump caused by tears that wanted to make their presence known.

Valdis stared up at him, her cold heart constricting at the all too familiar feeling of those you loved being murdered, the injustice of it all, and your person being engulfed in hatred and a insatiable need for revenge.

"I shall help you carry out your revenge Alduin, I know all too well how you feel. You have my 'voice' and my blade" Valdis said with determination, she would destroy the Empire, the Dominion and all those who would stand against her and Alduin. She was Dovahkiin, and she would fight for the Dovah, and for herself.

Alduin's heart fluttered with a small promise of hope, a feeling he had not felt in a millennia. He turned his intense gaze upon her being, trying to sense any dishonesty coming from her. When he found none, he grinned maniacally, exposing razor sharp teeth. For now the engines were turning and he would not stop until his revenge was spent.

"I am pleased by your allegiance with the Dovah, Valdis. I would have you meet the rest of the Dovah, but that will come later. For now though, you must make haste to Whiterun"

"What is so important in Whiterun?" asked Valdis, who was still recovering from the assault on her mind and body earlier.

Alduin grit his teeth, and a sneer crossed his pale features.

"You my dear are not the only Dovahkiin. There is another, who would slaughter my people without a single thought to it and steal their soul. One who also openly sides with the Empire…" at Valdis's flaring nostrils, Alduin knew he hit a nerve which would only fuel the need to destroy this other Dovahkiin – which is exactly what he wanted.

Valdis gripped the pommel of her iron sword, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. A rival who would kill Alduin's people and who sides with Empire filth? Death would come swiftly to the Dragonborn thought Valdis venomously.

"Go to Whiterun, and stop this fool from killing Mirmulnir, he will know you are friend the moment he senses you. Kill the dragonborn then make your way to Bonestrewn Crest in the volcanic tundra, wait for me there and I shall take you to the sanctuary that is Skuldafn" said Alduin while his mind was racing with thoughts on what was to unfold.

Valdis felt like she had just being thrown into the sea of ghosts, the option was sink or swim and she would do anything but sink. She also felt a deep sadness and need to help the Dovah, whether it was her dragonsoul speaking or simply her personal understanding for the need Alduin had for revenge – she did not know, but the need to help was strong and she felt she could trust Alduin, and would see this through with him.

"Then I will be on my way, I will see you at Bonestrewn Crest" Valdis said as she nodded her head at Alduin in a farewell gesture and made to walk past him but he gently gripped her arm before speaking.

"Before you leave my _Brii – _take a look in the chest, I have left a few gifts for you which I am confident you will like" Alduin said while gently tracing a black claw along her cheekbone before disappearing into a crimson portal.

Valdis stood, re-tracing the trail Alduin left on her cheek with her own finger, unsure on how to feel. Was he making advances upon her, or was it simply his way to communicate? She shook the thoughts out of her head and walked to the chest, opening the large ornate wooden lid and went wide eyed at what she saw…

* * *

><p><em>The word 'Brii' in Dragon tongue means 'beauty'.<em>


	5. Author's Note  Please read

Author's Note:

_Dear Readers_

_I am truly sorry for not having updated my story in a while. Unfortunately there is a major crisis at work and I have been thoroughly swamped under – only to return home feeling like the living dead. As soon as the crisis is under control, and my workload has been reduced to the normal amount, I will focus on my writing._

_Please understand, and I thankyou for all the reviews I have received so far – much appreciated._

_Much Love: Mylissa – Midgard Serpent._


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